Contacts Lens vs. Traditional Glasses

Contact lenses and eyeglasses both correct refractive vision errors. Which you choose depends upon your lifestyle, budget, aesthetics, and personal preferences. At Epic Vision Eye Centers throughout the Kansas City, Missouri Metro area, we help you weigh the pros and cons to make the right choice.

Glasses

Pros

• Ease. Glasses don't require cleaning or touching your eyes. You put them on and go.
• Light adjustment. You can buy lenses that will automatically adjust lighting based on conditions.
• Protection. Glasses provide some protection from dust and debris. Photochromic lenses also protect from UV light.
• Personality. Frames can be a fashion statement and an extension of your personality.

Cons

• Vision distortion. Glasses can sometimes distort vision at the edge of the lens, especially if you have astigmatism. Some people also have difficulty adjusting to progressive lenses. Lenses fog up in cold weather and, sometimes, when wearing a mask. Rain also can blur vision.
• Sports. Glasses sometimes get in the way or fall off when you participate in sports.
• Appearance. Some people don't like the way they look wearing glasses.

Contacts

Pros

• More natural vision. Contacts move with the eye, so nothing blocks vision. Rain and cold weather also do not affect contact lens wearers like they do people wearing glasses.
• Appearance. Contacts avoid changing appearance in the way glasses will. Some lenses can even change eye color.
• Sports. They don't get in the way or fall off.

Cons

• Expense. You must replace contact lenses more often and need to buy cleaning solutions, making them more expensive than glasses in the long run.
• Cleaning. Contacts require care and cleaning. Failure to properly clean them or wash your hands before putting them in can lead to eye infections.
• Dry eyes. Because contacts limit the amount of oxygen reaching the eye, they can increase dry eye syndrome.
• More challenging. Wearing contact lenses is an adjustment that takes time. Also, some people have trouble putting the lenses in their eyes, although practice can remedy this.

Contact Us in Kansas City

Contact Epic Vision Eye Centers in Greater Kansas City to schedule your eye exam today.